Use 48 kHz/16-bit mode unless you have a a compelling reason to do otherwise. About the only real reason for most people doing serious work is the need for 3 or 4 channels of audio during original recording.

I recorded with a direct line in on audio 1 from a mixing board. The signal was clear and the play back from the tape is clear (however I now hear a high pitch noise where before none existed) but when I try to capture into FCP4 I get only about 1/3 soild audio and the remaining is just static. It doesn't matter what size the clip is, it does the same thing. Is this a problem with xl1 or FCP4 or am I unknowingly doing something wrong?
Thank you.

If the tape is ok on playback from the XL1, then it is a problem with capture. Is the "high pitch noise" a hum of some sort? Did you have the XL1 plugged in or were you using batteries? Have you checked your settings in FCP - audio capture settings?

It is not always easy to adjust the controls you want, because
you might not be able to do (mostly due to low or bright lights).
Mostly I use a fixed shutter speed and change the iris in
combination with the builtin or an external ND filter.

But if you are shooting a scene where you want the shortest
DOF possible you might need to resolve to change the shutter
speed.

I use a custom preset with my black level as much down as
possible and I always try to underexpose slightly.

Ive been using the ME-66 for some time, mounted to the camera body. However, becuase the mic protrudes so far out if mounted to the normal mike attachment, especially with the system isolator in place, I modified the sennheiser mic blimp (whatever the handle with rubber bands is called) and attached it to the handle on the XL1. Purely in terms of sound quality, its fantastic. It picks up whispers at 20 feet. However, I have no other experience with any other mike, other then the crummy shotgun that comes with the camera. No doubt the higher quality sennheisers are better, however, the longer the shotgun mike the more cumbersome it is. I did one shoot though with an audio technica wireless outfit using the same ME-66. I had another ME-66 on the camera itself. Surprisingly, there was very little difference in quality. Anyway, its a great mike.

Greetings to everyone, and thanks to those who make this group possible! I just purchased a pre-owned XL1 and am preparing to do an instructional video. My experience is limited as I work as an animation artist, and have only worked around videographers. My first concern is that the camera did not come with a WL D-2000 wireless controller and I am having problems finding one. Anyone have one lying around? Question: is the feature set and quality improvments that much better in the XL1s that I should have saved my pennies and waited ? Glad to be here and thanks!

Well it's a bit late to ponder over the changes between the
normal and S model. But yes, some features are readily
improved on the S (like not going to standby, higher signal
to noise ratio and other things).

I think you can order the original remote control from Canon.
Give them a call to find out.

Hi guys. I know I read about it here somewhere, but darned if I can find it. Someone was discussing the fact that they desaturated the color on their XL1s, then resaturated it in post to provide them with more room for correction and control. Is this a practice you recommend? How exactly do you acheive this (what values -dB do you recommend? Also what about contrast? I would like to use this in my next project to bring my overall look to a higher level. It is about flyfishing and I want it to look "pretty".

Hmm. Seems like that would be a negative thing. Traditionally you want as many options available to you to work with when going into color correction. What's the difference between desaturating a full saturated image and starting with a desatured image?

It would seem to me that if you desaturated in camera, you're losing colour resolution and therefore cannot get it "exactly" back in post. Sort of like if you crush your blacks or blow out your whites, that detail is gone and aint coming back.

Just a querie from across the water; Does anyone know of any news about an XL 2 release in the near future? I know, I know, everyone and his brother wants to know about it, but I'm thinking of upgrading my XL 1 and don't want to miss out.

Does anyone know a 'quick-fix' to glue or weld the metal body of the XL-1? The part that sticks out from the left of the start-stop on top of the camera, where the viewfinder and mic are mounted? A heavy object fell ontop of the camera breaking it. The cam works fine, now its secured with nylon straps (cheesy)